This invention relates to a device for testing programs for numerical control of machine tools. More particularly, the invention relates to testing system programs for the internal control of command execution which are permanently programmed in semiconductor memories.
In present day automation systems for use in the control of machine tools, mocroprocessors have largely displaced the former hard-wired logic (see, for instance, Siemens-Zeitschrift 1977, No. 8). The logic cycles executed by the system, e.g., the system program, are usually permanently stored in semiconductor memories. One bit, the smallest unit of information, missing from such a memory can lead to faulty operation of the entire control system. In such a case it is relatively difficult to localize the defective storage device.
It is an object of the present invention to describe a simple and operationally reliable device for checking the system program.